Midnight Garden
by Red Dahlia
Summary: When a relaxing vacation goes wrong, Nanao must confront the danger within. Spoilers through Bleach manga chapter 520. Shunsui x Nanao.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **This is my first entry for the Week of Love giveaway happening July 6th - July 12th at the shunsui_nanao community at Livejournal. My pieces are written as chapters for this story, and I'll be posting chapters each day, finishing on Friday, seven chapters in all. Most days will have two chapters because of my late start!

Prompts for the whole story: Romantic getaway, vacation, travel, and resorts

**Contains:** Spoilers through Bleach manga chapter 520, canon-typical violence.

* * *

"Run away with me, Nanao-chan." Captain Kyōraku leaned his hip against the side of her desk, grinning. He didn't have his hat, but he still managed to look jaunty, if tired. His opportunity for naps had diminished greatly since he'd been promoted to Captain Commander.

"It would be a very short trip, as you have a Captains' meeting at two this afternoon," Nanao said, glancing up from her paperwork. Captain Kyōraku did not look discouraged by her reply; instead his grin widened, which undoubtedly meant mischief. She hadn't seen that look since they'd moved to the First Division. She was surprised to realize she'd missed it.

"Then run away with me tomorrow, Nanao-chan. We'll go to a hot spring resort in the Lakes District. It'll be a relaxing, romantic retreat in a beautiful, cool place."

She leaned back in her chair, abandoning the paperwork. It'd be easier to finish when he was in his meeting later, anyway. "We have work tomorrow, as well. Even if we didn't, Captains do not take their Vice Captains on romantic retreats. It would be highly inappropriate."

"I can see why you might think so, Nanao-chan, but the Central 46 disagrees." Amusement flowed into his voice at the mention of Soul Society's ruling body of nobles and sages.

"The Central 46?"

He nodded. "If you won't run away with me as far as the Lakes District, perhaps you'd go as far as the dango vendor in front of the division?" He rose, opening the office door for her with a flourish.

So he didn't want to discuss the Central 46 in the office, where they might be overheard. "Dango would be a nice treat, thank you." Nanao followed him out of the First. Their pace was slow, as he greeted everyone. He wasn't yet as familiar with all of the division members here as he'd been at the Eighth, but Nanao was certain it was only a matter of time.

The air outside was stifling, like a hot blanket thrown over her shoulders.

"Did I mention that the Lakes District is quite cool at this time of year? The higher elevation and the mountains keep the temperature comfortable," Captain Kyōraku said as he strolled through the courtyard, Nanao walking crisply just beside him.

"Is that so?" A mountain resort did sound pleasant, with the summer sun beating down on her. "I'll have to consider it as a possible destination for the SWA's next retreat."

"It's lucky that you'll have the opportunity to visit the area now, with me, and decide if it's suitable for you and your friends." He paid the dango vendor, handing her a stick with four cheerful pink treats.

"Is it luck, or is it the Central 46? I confess that I can't imagine why they would want us to vacation together, Captain." He led her into the park, spreading his haori under the shade of a huge tree. Nanao sat neatly as he sprawled out beside her.

"It was a surprise to me, too." He widened his eye in mock shock. "I looked up the records for Yama-jii's travel in the database at the First, to see if he'd ever taken a vacation, and I promptly received an invitation to visit the Central 46 at my earliest convenience."

"When did you look up the records?"

"Yesterday."

And he'd met with the Central 46 this morning. Nanao had escorted him to the building and waited outside for him to finish. She hadn't known the purpose of the visit, but that wasn't unusual. "Their efficiency is remarkable."

He smiled, but it didn't reach his eye. "It's easy to be efficient when you have the Second Division ninjas and the Twelfth Division scientists working for you."

Spying for the Central 46, he meant. "The Gotei 13 is under your direct command. The Central 46 has no right to utilize our soldiers without your approval," she snapped.

He chuckled. "You're so lovely when you get heated on my behalf. I like to see that passion, Nanao-chan, although I'd prefer it were under different circumstances." His voice dipped suggestively.

She knew he intended to distract her with his innuendo and ignored it. He might not be bothered by the Central 46, but she was. She pushed her anger back, not speaking until she could be cool. "What did they say?"

He finished his dango, leaning back on his hands. "They said that of course they could understand why a man with my responsibilities might desire a vacation, but that it would be necessary for Okikiba-san to accompany me. They need him to send frequent updates about my status and condition, so that they can be assured that I'm well, you see."

"As if the Central 46 cares about your health." She frowned at her untouched dango.

"I'm certain that some members of the Central 46 care very much about my health," he said dryly, and she pressed her lips together tightly. There was nothing funny about members of the Central 46 hoping to see him gone from his position.

"Who do they imagine could take your place? They could appoint a figurehead, now that the war is over, but what would they do when they needed someone to lead us into battle again? Anyone that they can control easily isn't worth of being the Captain Commander."

"Relax, Nanao-chan." He tipped up her dango stick, which had dipped perilously close to dropping her treats on the ground. "There are always those that seek greater control and power, and some of those people have always been in the Central 46."

She looked away, at the shinigami scurrying down the distant street. "How far would they go?" she asked softly.

He sat up, brushing her cheek with his knuckles. "Don't worry, Nanao-chan."

She shook her head.

"I'm not an easy target, sweetheart."

That didn't mean that he couldn't be hurt or killed. "Don't call me that."

He grinned, which made her shake her head again.

"You're not taking this seriously." It bothered her that he could be so careless about his life, when he meant so much to so many people.

When he meant so much to her_._

"Something like this situation with the Central 46 is a war of attrition, Nanao-chan. It takes a long time, and can only be won skirmish by skirmish."

"They could decide to take drastic measures to be rid of you."

"They won't," he said, his voice strong and firm.

She didn't have anything to say to that dubious assertion, and took a small bite of dango instead. The treat felt like sand in her mouth.

"I won the skirmish with them today, Nanao-chan."

"You won?" she asked, turning towards him.

"Yes. When the Central 46 insisted that I take Okikiba-san on my vacation, I said that I could certainly understand their wish to be apprised of my status, and that I appreciated their concern for my health, so of course I would be willing to take my Vice Captain with me."

"Of course?" Nanao echoed, surprised.

"Yes. But Okikiba-san is so important to the function of the First Division, that it wouldn't make sense to pull him away from his duties there when I already have another Vice Captain acting as my escort. So I told them that sweet Nanao-chan and I will be going on vacation together. You can send whatever reports they find necessary."

She bit her lip, thinking. The Central 46 wanted Okikiba to go with Kyōraku because they believed Okikiba's loyalty would be to them over Kyōraku. Nanao couldn't say for certain whether that was true or not—she hadn't known Okikiba long enough and there hadn't yet been a situation that would test his loyalty.

Clearly the Central 46 believed Nanao's loyalty was to Captain Kyōraku above any other person or institution. Yet they couldn't deny Kyōraku's choice to take her with him over Okikiba without bringing that into the open and entering a more direct confrontation with Kyōraku.

"How much of the Central 46 is concerned for your health?" She narrowed her eyes, watching his expression closely.

He scratched his chin as if considering her question, but she knew he was only considering how much to tell her. He didn't like her to worry over serious things, only over small things that he could make light of and flirt shamelessly over.

"Captain, if I am to accompany you during your vacation, I would very much like to know how much interest there is in your health." _Will they try to hurt you, away from the eyes of the Gotei 13?_

"Don't worry, cute Nanao-chan. My health is excellent, as always." His voice was bright. She glanced away from him, annoyed at his evasion, and he touched her hand, the one holding the dango stick. "You haven't eaten your dango."

"I don't want it now." How could she get him to speak to her more seriously? Perhaps a change of tactics was needed. She shifted on the pink haori, facing him squarely. Her hand held out the dango to him. "As your Vice Captain, I should know these things. Sasakibe-san would have known them about Captain Yamamoto."

His eye flickered between the dango and her face. What she was asking for was an intimacy he'd carefully denied her, undoubtedly intending to protect her. What she offered was an intimacy she'd carefully denied him, intending to maintain some propriety in their relationship.

He accepted the dango stick, keeping his eye on her as he ate the half of a dango ball with the marks of her teeth on it. He chewed slowly, enjoying the treat, and then handed her the stick. She took a neat bite out of the second dango ball and held it out, waiting.

He took the stick, lingering over the touch of their hands and then rolling the dango bite over his tongue, savoring the sweet and the indirect contact with Nanao's mouth. He swallowed the dango and leaned in closer to her, his weight on one hand. He bit deliberately into the third dango, leaving half, and held it out to her when he spoke. "Several members of the Central 46 are keenly interested in my health."

She licked her lips, hesitating, but finally took the dango and ate the treat he'd bitten. He watched her mouth with an intensity that sent heat through her body in tingling sparks. She refused to blush, although it took an effort to push the blush back. "Several? How patriotic of them, to be so concerned for the wellbeing of their Captain Commander."

"Isn't it? But even so, lovely Nanao-chan shouldn't worry." His eye was riveted to her lips.

"Why not?" He was close enough that she could feel the warmth of his body through his clothes.

"The Kuchiki and Shihōin families support me fully, and they have a strong presence in the Central 46 and the Gotei 13. As long as that's true, none of the interest in my health matters. The small skirmishes are as far as things will go for now."

"You're confident of that?" Nanao tugged the last piece of dango off the stick and held it out to him.

"Very confident." His voice dropped to a deep rumble. "Taste it for me, Nanao-chan."

She brought the dango to her mouth, biting half of it away. She held the remaining treat out to him and he dipped his head to eat it out of her hand, swirling his tongue around her fingertips with a sound of pleasure. The blush did rise to her cheeks this time, but she said nothing. How could she scold him for an intimacy she'd offered to him? She'd have to acknowledge that the exchange was about more than a shared sweet. And he'd kept the unspoken pact, telling her about the threats within the Central 46. That was more important than his tongue caressing her fingers for a single moment.

His body brushed her arm and she tensed, but he only lay back with a sigh, looking up at the sky through the tree branches. "Relaxing in the park and eating dango with my lovely Nanao-chan is like a dream come true today. It'll get even better when we go on a romantic retreat together. I can hardly imagine it. What about you, Nanao-chan?" He grinned.

"It does seem like a dream of yours," she said, raising an eyebrow and shifting back on the haori to see his face. "Do you really want to go on a vacation?"

He closed his eye. "I was wondering, the other day, how anyone could do this job without taking breaks, but I couldn't remember Yama-jii ever going on a vacation. I looked it up in the database. He never took a vacation. All those years, he worked every single day. I don't know how he did that."

Nanao bent closer to him, studying his face. His eye patch covered his empty eye socket and much of the scarred area around it, but she could see shadows under his other eye. The lines around his mouth and eyes had deepened in the war and never returned to normal. But normal was different now, wasn't it? Now he carried the scars of another war and the weariness of a man holding up a great weight without relief. He'd probably never intended to go on vacation at all when he'd looked up Yama-jii's records, but Nanao thought it might be good for him. "If Captain Yamamoto had ever gone on vacation, Sasakibe-san would definitely have gone with him."

"Oh?" Captain Kyōraku opened his eye to look at her, curious.

"I'm certain. Sasakibe-san had a very strong sense of duty, and would never have left the Captain Commander unattended, regardless of the circumstances." She adjusted her glasses. "I will accompany you on your vacation in my professional capacity as your Vice Captain, sir."

His eye widened, a smile breaking across his face. "Nanao-chan is so sweet, so lovely—"

"I will be accompanying you in a strictly professional role."

"Of course," he said easily. "But as this is a vacation, Nanao-chan will be accompanying me to the resort, the scenic mountains, the hot springs—"

"If I accompany you to a hot spring, we will go into separate bathing areas, as is appropriate." He nodded, but his smile didn't dim. Apparently the pleasure he felt at the prospect of vacationing with her couldn't be dampened easily. She felt her lips turning up, and hurried on. "But surely you don't intend to spend all your time in a hot spring? Isn't that for elderly men, Captain?"

He sat up a bit, pressing a hand over his heart with dramatic flair. "You wound me, Nanao-chan! Of course I won't spend all my time at the hot springs, when there are so many things to do with you. It's been a long time since I was in the Lakes District, but they have a few excellent troupes doing traditional theatre forms. I think you'd really enjoy it."

"Theatre? What else?" She might enjoy the theatre, he was right about that.

He shifted closer, both of them leaning towards each other. "It seems obvious, but the Lakes District has some beautiful lakes. We can relax on the shores, go swimming in the clear water, and have a romantic picnic. You can wear a cute little swimsuit—do you have one, Nanao-chan?"

"The SWA goes to beach now and then, you know that. I do have appropriate attire for swimming." He was much too close, but he looked genuinely happy, and she hadn't seen that in a long time. Vacation was the right thing to do for him. He needed the break, and she would be there to make sure that no one interfered or interrupted his rest.

His fingers barely brushed the nape of her neck. "Is it a little swimsuit in purple, perhaps with bows? I saw one in that magazine you brought back from Lisa-chan's store."

She pulled back from his touch. "No. And why are you reading my magazines?"

"The Living World is very fashionable now, isn't it? And I thought if you were looking at those things in a magazine, I should look too, so I could prepare myself for the experience of seeing Nanao-chan in those outfits. Just the thought makes my knees weak." He made a kissy face, bending closer to her mouth.

She gave him a stinging tap on the lips with her fan. "If you feel faint, you should go to the Fourth Division, Captain."

"Nanao-chan is so cruel." He rubbed his lips.

"We should get back to the office, sir. You have that meeting at two." She stood, straightening her uniform.

He pouted at her when she turned to him, which made her lips turn up. She stepped off his haori, her eyes on the street. "But you could have me on my knees so easily if you wanted, Nanao-chan," he murmured near her ear.

There was nothing she could say to that without wading deeper into dangerous waters. It would be better to ignore it entirely. "We have to get back. There's a lot to do if we're leaving tomorrow." She started off through the park.

He caught her easily, swinging his pink haori up on his shoulders. "We'll have to pack. Don't forget your swimsuit, Nanao-chan," he sing-songed happily, as if he hadn't been sensually teasing her moments ago. But he was always good at reading her and reacting accordingly.

"I pack very thoroughly." He probably hadn't really expected her to go away with him, but after what the Central 46 had done, she wanted to snub them, and to give him the opportunity to get some much needed rest. She led him to the meeting room. "Captain Kyōraku?" she called before he could enter.

He crossed back to her. "Yes, Nanao-chan?"

She glanced around to make sure the hallway was empty. There was no one around, so she rose on her toes and positioned her lips close to his ear. "It's a bikini," she said quietly, and then pivoted crisply, marching away.

His laugh followed her down the hallway. Her secretive smile lasted all the way back to their office. Sometimes it felt good to be the one doing the teasing, and it would make the grim meeting about the final versions of the casualty reports for the war more bearable for him. It wasn't very professional of her, but her Captain's wellbeing was important to her, and she would sacrifice her professional standards to make his responsibilities less painful without much hesitation. And if he gave her speculative looks and questions later in the afternoon while he stamped the casualty reports, she would use only small fan slaps, when he really went too far.

Nanao's softness for him always had a sharp edge waiting nearby.

* * *

A note for readers of my ongoing story, _Practicing Marriage_, the new chapter will be out soon, after I've finished posting this story. Thank you for your patience, I appreciate it!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **This is my second entry for the Week of Love giveaway happening July 6th - July 12th at the shunsui_nanao community at Livejournal. My pieces are written as chapters for this story, and I'll be posting chapters each day, finishing on Friday, seven chapters in all. Most days will have two chapters because of my late start!

Prompts for the whole story: Romantic getaway, vacation, travel, and resorts

**Contains:** Spoilers through Bleach manga chapter 520, canon-typical violence.

* * *

Nanao left her quarters, locking the door behind her. It was an hour after dawn, and the air was still pleasantly cool. Captain Kyōraku probably wouldn't be ready yet. He'd become much more prompt since they'd come to the First Division, but he was not traditionally an early riser.

She stepped out into the courtyard of the First. Perhaps she should wait for him here, instead of going to his house. She didn't want to intrude. But she did want to get going early, so—

"Good morning, Nanao-chan!" Captain Kyōraku crossed the courtyard to her, a bag slung over his chest. He was in his uniform, which relieved her. She'd debated about wearing a yukata, but had decided to wear her uniform until they were at the resort. If she was accompanying him in a professional capacity, it would be inappropriate to dress casually, at least in front of their troops.

"Good morning, Captain." He reached for her bag and she handed it to him, knowing that arguing about it would be pointless.

"Nanao-chan's bag is so cute," he said. She'd debated about that, too, but had chosen to pack a casual bag in purple oilcloth instead of a First Division bag. "Do you have cute things in here, Nanao-chan? Like a little bikini?" He grinned.

"I've packed appropriate clothes for our possible activities." It was strange to be here like this, talking about _their_ vacation. Being too professional might damage the restful vacation she wanted him to have, but being too intimate with him was worrisome, too.

"You're really running away with me, Nanao-chan." He slung her bag up over his shoulder. A man who wore a pink kimono regularly probably didn't spare much concern for being seen carrying a feminine bag. "I can hardly believe it."

"Me neither," she said, arching a brow.

"Stay close to me when we go into flash step. I'll lead the way to the Lakes District."

She nodded and followed him into flash step. They made good progress, although she knew he was going slower than he could. But they were heading to a resort, not a battle, so speed wasn't really critical.

He paused on a high hill after several flash steps. "Do you want a drink?"

"No, I'm fine. How much farther is it?" They were well out into the South Rukongai.

"It's still pretty far. We've only gone about a quarter of the way. But it's worth the trip, Nanao-chan, I promise." He leaned down, close to her. "We're going to have such a good time, just you and me."

Nanao's lips quirked up. "Just you and me and a squad of elite Second Division ninjas." She hadn't been sure back in the courtyard, but once they'd left Seireitei she was certain that they were being followed.

He chuckled. "It couldn't really be helped. But they're from the Kuchiki clan, so it's alright." The Kuchiki clan was loyal to him, and it couldn't hurt to have some protection available. Although Captain Kyōraku couldn't spare any worry for his life, Nanao had enough worry for both of them. "I'm sure they'll be very discreet, Nanao-chan."

"Discreet?" She frowned at his implication. "They won't have anything to be discreet about," she snapped. Nanao had no intention of ending up in a compromising position with him.

He held up his hands in a placating gesture. "I only meant that they wouldn't be taking any pictures of Nanao-chan's bikini or anything like that. But I might," he added with a sly smile.

"You will not. Your camera will suffer an unfortunate accident if you try, Captain." She nodded for emphasis. "Shall we go?"

"Sure, Nanao-chan." But he didn't move, instead murmuring in her ear, "I won't need to take a picture to remember you on this trip. I always remember my Nanao-chan." He jumped into flash step before she could respond, which was probably for the best.

They continued until Nanao judged they were more than halfway to the Lakes District, but the atmosphere had been changing slowly from the crisp morning to a thick mist. Shunsui stopped suddenly, catching her when she slipped out of flash step to follow him.

"Do you feel it, Nanao-chan?" he asked, looking around slowly. The area was now shrouded in fog, even the ground barely distinguishable from the air. It had changed so slowly and subtly that she'd hardly noticed. When they stopped the fog rolled in quickly, and she could now feel the threads of power faintly around them.

"Yes. I'm not sure what it is, but it feels almost like the dangai." She stepped back from his hold, alert. "Where are the ninjas?"

"They were following a few steps back. They'll probably come through soon, unless this is something that could break their formation. It's almost as if this place has been superimposed over the area. I can feel the nearby towns, but it's badly muffled."

"Captain?" She could feel a strong spiritual pressure approaching, although the nature of it was odd. It was like a Hollow, but it felt off—oily and stuttering.

"Stay back, Nanao-chan." He dropped the bags, his hand resting on the hilt of one of his swords.

She shifted to a fighting stance behind him, reaching into her sleeve for her tantō. He didn't want her to be in danger and she didn't want to distract him. But she would be ready for whatever was coming.

What appeared wasn't the huge and intimidating Menos Grande she'd expected. Instead it was an octopus-like black creature, four feet high and wide, sliding along on tentacles, leaving an inky trail behind it. It had a Hollow hole filled in with gray putty and a rusty clockwork mechanism. "Hello! What are you?" Captain Kyōraku asked genially.

It let out a scream at his greeting that was all Hollow. Nanao unsheathed her tantō.

"That's answer enough, I suppose." Captain Kyōraku drew his swords, tensing to strike.

Suddenly the Hollow creature jumped into the air at sonido speed, pulling its tentacles in and aiming itself like an arrow. But it wasn't aimed at her Captain; it was aimed at Nanao.

"Don't ignore me, it's rude." Captain Kyōraku flashed in front of the odd Hollow, cutting it in half with one strike.

The Hollow fell to the foggy ground, but didn't disintegrate right away. Instead it broke into thin, wet strips. Nanao stood, watching it. She slipped her tantō back into her sleeve. "It's so strange. Almost like something that would come out of the Twelfth Division," she said.

"Don't get too close. You might be right, Nanao-chan." He sheathed his swords, stepping back.

She took a small step forward, leaning down. "Do you think the Central 46 would have done this? It's very underpowered, if they expected it to harm you."

He put a hand on her shoulder, urging her back a few more steps. "We can't be sure. The ninjas will be here soon, and they can take some samples as evidence."

The strips of Hollow broke down even farther, into small pieces. "What is it doing?" The pieces were small and pointed, almost like darts or arrows. In the time of one blink, hundreds of them rose into the air and shot straight at Nanao.

Kyōraku slammed into her, shoving her out of range of the darts and to the ground before they could strike her. The darts fell to the ground, some of them already disintegrating, and disappeared into the fog in the next blink. "Sorry, Nanao-chan. Are you hurt?" he asked, pushing himself off her.

He'd knocked the breath out of her. It took her a moment to gather enough air to answer him. "No, I'm fine, I was just—Captain, don't move."

He froze, following her eyes to the front of his uniform. One of the darts of Hollow was creeping across his chest like a worm, barely visible against the black fabric. Nanao raised her hand, intending to snatch it and throw it off. "Don't, Nanao-chan. It could be dangerous. Let me do it."

She ignored him, but before either of them could act the Hollow dart twisted suddenly, burrowing through his skin and disappearing into his chest. "Captain?" She grabbed his uniform, ripping the sides apart.

"Nanao-chan, I appreciate your desire to take off my clothes, but I think that you should get away from me. I don't want you to get infected if this is something that can be spread." He spoke carefully, as if it were difficult, tugging her hands away from his skin.

"There's no wound. Why isn't there a wound?" She scanned his skin frantically, her eyes rising to his. "Does it hurt? Can you feel it?"

His breathing slowed, his hold on her hands fading. "I can feel it. But it's not my body. Nanao-chan, get out of here. It could be dangerous. You could get hurt."

He fell back onto the foggy ground. His skin was paling, his breathing labored. But it was all so fast, too fast. Nanao knelt beside him, her fear rising. "Captain?"

He smiled slightly. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I don't think we're going to make it to the resort this time."

"The ninjas will be here any second. We'll get you back to the Fourth for treatment. Where does it hurt?" She held onto her calm by her fingertips, but it wouldn't help to panic. She summoned a diagnostic kidō to her hand, running it over his chest.

"It's not—inside. Katen—" he broke off, his eyes closing.

"No, no—Captain, wake up, please," Nanao said, frantic. The kidō wasn't reading anything useful; if there was damage to his body, it wasn't showing up.

Movement behind her had flames flickering into her other hand, but it was the Second Division ninjas. "Captain Commander!" one of the ninjas said, hurrying to Nanao's side.

"We were attacked. A piece of the Hollow has gone into the Captain Commander." Nanao met the ninja's eyes. "There are only three of you?"

"We were stopped by this odd fog. The rest of my men are outside it, most likely unable to enter. It took us several minutes to find this opening into the area, and I believe it closed behind us." The ninja studied Kyōraku's still body. "Can you heal him?"

"There's nothing wrong with his body." Nanao closed her eyes, thinking. _Inside—Katen—_what had he meant? _Inside_. But not inside his body. He'd started to say the name of his zanpakutō. "I believe his Inner World is being attacked."

The ninja's face was grave. "There's nothing we can do for him if that's the case. My team will search for an exit, to make a quick return to Seireitei."

There were forbidden kidōs meant to break down the Inner World, destroying the soul from the inside. Nanao had only read about them in books. But it would be a smart way to attack someone as powerful as Captain Kyōraku, someone that could undoubtedly defeat any direct attack. And the Hollow had cleverly struck for Nanao both times, driving her Captain to protect her, to put himself in the path of harm.

Was there a counter to an attack this insidious? The answer came to her, and she flinched. It was too dangerous—she was afraid to try it, and afraid of what would happen if she didn't. "There is something I can try." Nanao pulled out her sheathed tantō. "I'm going to connect to his Inner World through mine. If I can stop the damage, he might be able to recover."

"That's a very dangerous proposition, Vice Captain Ise." The ninja looked dubious.

"Yes. But the life of the Captain Commander is worth risking my life. Even if I fail, I may be able to gain enough time for him for the Fourth Division to save him." She looked up at the ninja, and saw that he knew sacrifice of this kind very well.

"I understand. My men and I will continue to look for an exit. We'll get the Captain Commander out of here, whatever it takes. Good luck, Vice Captain Ise." The ninja rose, bowing, and ran off into the fog.

Nanao unsheathed her Captain's swords carefully, laying the blades between the two of them. She drew her tantō and placed it on top of his swords. She lifted one of his hands and placed it over the handles of the tantō and swords. Hesitating, she bent over him, smoothing his hair back gently. "Captain, I'm going to help you. So please, please let me in." She took a deep breath and pressed her hands down on his large hand on top of the zanpakutō handles.

She was hardly in a state of deep meditation, but sometimes a zanpakutō responded to urgent need instead. She closed her eyes, seeking.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **This is my third chapter for the Week of Love giveaway happening July 6th - July 12th at the shunsui_nanao community at Livejournal. My pieces are written as chapters for this story, and I'll be posting chapters each day, finishing on Friday, seven chapters in all. Most days will have two chapters because of my late start!

Prompts for the whole story: Romantic getaway, vacation, travel, and resorts

**Contains:** Spoilers through Bleach manga chapter 520, canon-typical violence.

* * *

"This is a monumentally terrible idea."

Nanao opened her eyes. She was sitting on a branch of a fat tree in her own Inner World. The trees rose high into the clouds, the ground so far below it might not exist at all. Each treetop was an island in an ocean of clouds—dark and rumbling now. She looked up. "I appreciate your thoughts, Sūkikyō. But I need to do something, and this is all I can do."

The striking red cardinal huffed, as much as a bird could huff. "If you go into his Inner World, you'll be at the mercy of his soul. Do you understand what that means? Every Inner World has its own rules and truths. Gravity may be zero. You may not be able to draw a sword or do kidō. I might not be permitted to accompany you or able to help if I am with you. The danger is incredible. If you die in there, the connection between your Inner World and his will be broken, your consciousness lost, and your body will never wake again. You'll be comatose forever."

"I understand. Thank you for your concern, but this is necessary. I must help Captain Kyōraku, no matter the risks. Can you make the connection?" Nanao asked.

Her zanpakutō was a willful and difficult bird, but he'd never failed her in a critical situation. "Is he worth your life, Nanao?" He fluttered down to her eye level.

"Yes," she said and her resolution was absolute. Sūkikyō wouldn't act for anything less.

"If you must do this, I will help." He flew off, his bright feathers flashing in the sunlight.

Nanao closed her eyes, waiting. The air around her grew colder, the light darker. She didn't move.

Finally she heard Sūkikyō's voice, ragged and tired. "It's done."

Nanao opened her eyes. She was sitting in a field of tall flowers. Overhead was a night sky, lit up with streaks of fire and flashes of thunder. She stood, but the flowers were much taller than she'd expected, reaching her chest instead of her waist. But it wasn't that the flowers were tall; it was that she was small. Her uniform was gone, replaced with a cheerful purple yukata. She looked down at her hands, flipping them over. "I'm a child?"

"I told you, you're at the mercy of his Inner World. He's a child here, so you're a child." Sūkikyō perched on her shoulder.

"He's a child here?" Nanao asked, surprised.

"Look at the sky. Can you see the cracks and the storms? This Inner World is breaking down. His soul is splitting apart. It looks like his zanpakutō is trying to hold the center together, but this is an outer ring, an abandoned area. There will be more rings like this one, I suspect; Katen Kyōkotsu is strong, but she's losing pieces of him constantly."

"Pieces of Captain Kyōraku?"

Sūkikyō made an impatient noise. "What is a soul, Nanao? It's a collection of memories and emotions and power. Your Captain is being attacked here, and he is losing. His memories and emotions and power are breaking up, and it's a mess. She's disregarding the oldest memories first, which is a sensible decision. Look over there."

Nanao turned in the direction Sūkikyō indicated with his wing. A small boy with curling hair stood in the distance, staring at the sky. "He's really a child here?"

"Only in this ring. That must be the dominant memory here, and so you'll match what he expects to see in this memory. If you go deeper into this Inner World, you may meet other memories before you reach the center. That's where your Captain will really be, fighting off this invasion with his zanpakutō."

"That's where we need to go. It might be best not to interact with his memories if we can avoid it. There could be consequences. I don't want to give him memories that don't fit properly with his existing memories of his life."

"Yes, but there may not be any choice. This is his Inner World, and the rules may be different from what you would prefer," Sūkikyō said.

Nanao shook her head. "Maybe, but I would like to be careful here. Please lead me toward the center, Red Bird." She froze. Why had she called him that? She hadn't used that name for Sūkikyō since she'd learned his real name, as a student at the Academy.

_A child._

"I warned you." Sūkikyō fussed with his feathers. "Different rules. The air here has odd currents, I'm not sure if I can fly through them."

Even if she was a child, she would still push forward. "Please try. I'll follow you." Sūkikyō lifted off her shoulder and flew in a graceful arc toward the heart of the storm. Nanao ran after him, stretching for flash step and finding it gone. It wasn't a huge shock that she couldn't use flash step; if she was the child she appeared to be, she hadn't been able to use flash step at this age.

She ran on for several minutes, getting winded. But of much greater concern to her was that the landscape of the flower fields didn't change at all. If she was making progress, she couldn't see it.

Sūkikyō flew back to her, landing on her shoulder. "You aren't moving. You're running, but you aren't going forward. I don't believe you'll be allowed to move on without his permission." The bird flapped at the small boy with curling hair in the distance.

"What should I do?" She wanted to save Captain Kyōraku, but she didn't want to do any damage to his soul. Making contact with his memories risked damaging him. What if he remembered meeting her as a child? Wouldn't it be difficult for him to reconcile that with his existing real memories of her?

"If you aren't willing to hurt him, we should leave. There's no point to being here if you won't act."

Nanao shook her head. "If I do nothing, he'll die. I have to take the risk."

"Ruthlessness may be required, Nanao."

"I will do whatever I need to do to save him."

She ran towards the boy's back. When she was closer she could see that he was a little taller than her and dressed in muted blues. "Hello!"

The boy turned, facing her. She was relieved to see that he looked normal, his dark hair curling over his forehead, his face bright with health and his gray eyes curious. "Hello. I didn't expect to meet a girl here. I'm Shunsui. What a great bird! Is he your pet?"

Nanao stepped closer to him, hesitating. She needed him to bring her deeper into the Inner World, but she didn't know how much to tell him. "My name is Nanao. This is Sūkikyō. He's not really my pet—" Sūkikyō let out a chortling sound that dripped with disdain, to Nanao's ears. "—but he's traveling with me. We're trying to get there, do you know the way?" She pointed at the storm raging in the center of the Inner World.

"Why do you want to go there? There's a bad storm there, it could be dangerous." Shunsui-kun smiled. "We could stay here and play instead. I know a lot of fun games, Nanao-chan."

"I would like to play with you, Shunsui-kun," she said, and it was true. As a child, she would have dearly loved to have a friend as warm and playful as him, and she felt that longing now in her small chest. "But I think someone I care about is in trouble there, and I really want to help. Please take me there." She held his gaze, watching his eyes flash with conflicting emotions.

"Something very bad is happening here, Nanao-chan," he said, and she could see the seriousness and insight that would make him Captain Commander one day. "If I take you over there, I'm worried about what will happen to you."

"Thank you for thinking of me, but Shunsui-kun—" her words were interrupted by a high-pitched screech. She turned to see a tear opening in the sky, and small copies of the octopus Hollow dropping like wet ink into the flower field.

"It's not safe here, either." Shunsui-kun grabbed her hand, running with her toward the raging storm. He was fast, and she could barely keep up, her small legs working hard.

She glanced behind them and saw the miniature Hollows ripping apart the flower field. "They're destroying it?"

"The infection delivered by that Hollow intends to destroy everything, Nanao." Sūkikyō dug into her shoulder with his small claws, holding on tightly. Shunsui-kun didn't react to Sūkikyō's words, so Nanao guessed he wasn't able to hear the bird talking.

Nanao focused on the ground in front of her feet, breathing heavily. The long grass of the flower fields yielded to rich black earth and moss.

Shunsui-kun slowed, looking behind them. "It'll take them a long time to destroy everything there. The forest will give us cover. Are you alright, Nanao-chan?"

"I'm fine." She tipped her face up and saw that the sky was obscured by thick trees. The breeze had an oddly melodious sound here. She realized a moment later that the sound was caused by the wind rustling through thin bones hanging from the tree branches. She gasped.

Shunsui-kun followed her eyes. "Don't worry, that's normal. This is Katen Kyōkotsu's forest. Those are her bone chimes." He squeezed Nanao's hand. "Are you afraid, Nanao-chan?"

There was always darkness in him—Nanao had known that for a very long time—but it was strange to see it hanging from the trees above the friendly boy holding her hand. "No. I'm not afraid."

He studied her face, his eyes serious, before he broke into a grin. "That's good! This isn't the only place where she has decorations. If you were scared here, I don't think you could go all the way to the midnight garden."

"The midnight garden?" Nanao asked.

"It's in the middle. It's the best place. Katen Kyōkotsu is usually there. That's where the storm is coming from."

"I want to see it," she said. "Will you take me there?"

"I'll try. I'm not sure if I can go all the way with you, Nanao-chan." He tugged on her hand, moving forward briskly. Nanao hurried to keep up. "I know you're in a rush today, but maybe if you're not on another day, we can play some games together."

"I'd like that." She smiled. It would have been wonderful to have a friend like him when she was this age. She'd spent so much time alone as a child in the Rukongai and then at the Academy.

"It'll be a lot of fun. There aren't any other kids at Yama-jii's place."

"No other kids?" Nanao asked with her eyes wide. Had the notoriously friendly Captain Kyōraku spent his childhood without playmates?

"No, at least, no one else that has to stay here all the time. My family thought it was best if I didn't come home anymore." He smiled, waving his hands to press off any sympathy. "They visit sometimes, and Yama-jii shows me a lot of really cool stuff."

Nanao nodded. His family looked like a touchy subject, so she left it alone. "What kind of cool stuff?"

"Do you know what kidō is, Nanao-chan?"

Kidō had been a favorite subject of Nanao's all of her life, and she dived into it with enthusiasm, gesturing animatedly. It was so easy to talk to him. He was clever and fun and warm. Nanao hadn't forgotten her purpose here, but it fell to the background. She was really enjoying the chance to visit Shunsui-kun. She was very sure of one thing: if they'd met as children, they would have been friends.

"It'd be a lot of fun to play games with you, Nanao-chan. I can tell."

"Did Yama-jii teach you games?" she asked. It didn't seem likely.

"No, I learned them from her—from Katen Kyōkotsu. It's fine, though, we don't have to play with her rules," he added quickly, and Nanao wondered what _her rules_ were.

"What are your favorite games?"

They talked idly as they walked through the forest, the bones singing out a sad and sweet melody. Nanao was glad to have the experience of meeting Shunsui-kun as a boy, but she felt a stinging needle of guilt at the possibility that this memory could cause damage to his soul later, when his soul was whole again and this memory didn't fit into his existing memories properly. But she could worry about that after she pushed out the Hollow infection.

The forest was thinning out, the ground changing again to hard-packed dirt. At the edge of the forest, Shunsui-kun stopped. "I can't go any farther, Nanao-chan."

She stilled, turning to face him, still holding his hand. "Why not?"

He shook his head. "Things aren't right here. I should be able to go on, but—" His brow furrowed.

"This may be the edge of the outer ring, Nanao. He may not be able to pass into the next area, if there's another memory dominant there," Sūkikyō said.

"I understand. Thank you for taking me this far, Shunsui-kun." She smiled. "I'm glad that I got to meet you."

He smiled brilliantly, his worry clearing. "Me too. I want to meet again soon, if you'd like that, Nanao-chan."

She released his hand, nodding. She waved goodbye and turned away from him, running across the hard-packed earth. "What will happen to him, Sūkikyō?"

"You mean when the infection reaches him? I would presume that the memory will be destroyed with everything else."

"He'll die?" She paused in her running.

"You can't help him now. He can only be saved by pushing back the Hollow infection," Sūkikyō said firmly.

"But that will probably be too late for Shunsui-kun. The Hollows were closing in."

"If you go back now, you might not make it to the midnight garden in time. Sacrifices are sometimes necessary, Nanao. Katen Kyōkotsu is willing to lose pieces of this soul to save the whole. Are you?"

Nanao's throat felt tight. The warm and friendly boy she'd met would likely die. The memory might be destroyed forever. But she would remember him, remember this meeting. "We go forward, no matter what." She ran, fast and purposeful.

Sūkikyō flew up into the air, circling. The storm crackled, louder and closer.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **This is my fourth chapter for the Week of Love giveaway happening July 6th - July 12th at the shunsui_nanao community at Livejournal. My pieces are written as chapters for this story, and I'll be posting chapters each day, finishing on Friday, seven chapters in all. Most days will have two chapters because of my late start!

Prompts for the whole story: Romantic getaway, vacation, travel, and resorts

**Contains:** Spoilers through Bleach manga chapter 520, canon-typical violence.

* * *

Nanao tripped suddenly, falling to her knees. It felt as if her foot hadn't been where she expected when she landed. "What?" She stood, brushing off her red hakama, and froze. _Red hakama?_ She wore a neat Shinigami Academy uniform, and she wasn't a child anymore—she was older and nearly as tall as she was as an adult. "An adolescent?"

She'd been a child at the Academy, but Sūkikyō had said _you'll match what he expects to see_. She was fitting into a different memory.

Sūkikyō landed roughly on her shoulder, almost tumbling forward. Nanao steadied him with her hand. "Are you alright, Sūkikyō?"

"I'm fine. It's just challenging for me to fly here. The air currents are very fierce."

For Sūkikyō to admit to finding something challenging was unusual; Nanao assumed he was actually having tremendous difficulty with her Captain's Inner World if he said anything. But he wouldn't appreciate it if she mentioned that. They were very alike in some respects.

The storm over the midnight garden was closer, but judging the distance was impossible due to the way the landscape continually shifted. Even from above it couldn't be measured clearly. There was also no way to know how much time was passing in the world outside and if the ninjas had found a way out. She couldn't be sure of how long her Captain would last under this sustained attack. The only thing she could do was make it to the storm at the center of the Inner World as soon as possible. "I just need to find Captain Kyōraku's memory here, and get him to lead me closer to the center, yes?"

"That's right. He's sleeping under a tree inside the courtyard there." Nanao followed Sūkikyō's pointed wing to a gate that resembled the Shinigami Academy's as it was when she attended, but was different enough that she was sure this was not the modern Academy. The sunlight was cheerful overhead, marred by the flames of the storm in the distance.

"Thank you." She walked through the gate, surprised to find a book in her hand. _Advanced Kidō Techniques: An Introduction_ was the title, and she smiled to see it. Captain Kyōraku had told her once that the kidō instruction at the Academy hadn't changed in a thousand years, and it seemed that was true. She'd carried a copy of this book for nearly her entire time at the Academy.

In the shade of a willow tree a tall boy lay using his arms as a pillow. He wore the blue hakama of the Shinigami Academy uniform, breaking the uniform code by not wearing tabi. He had some small bits of hair on his chin that might be fashionable but that Nanao didn't care for. Sūkikyō chirped out an impatient call and the boy cracked open one eye. At the sight of Nanao he sat up comically quickly.

"Excuse me," she said. "I'm trying to get somewhere, but I'm having trouble."

The boy stood, his short hair rolling into his eyes. "A beautiful girl in trouble? That won't do at all. Please allow me take you to your destination." He cuddled up beside her, his hand at her waist. "I'm Shunsui Kyōraku."

Nanao pried his fingers off her waist in a way designed for maximum pain. He didn't shriek, which was an accomplishment. She shifted her book to the side where he was pressing close, shoving the spine into his ribs. She had a lot of useful experience with managing inappropriately affectionate men like Captain Kyōraku. "I'm Nanao Ise. I'm trying to get over there, to the midnight garden." She pointed at the storm, which was flaring louder and angrier than before.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Nanao-chan. I'd love to help you, but there's a nasty storm over there. Wouldn't it be much nicer to pass the time here with me?" He smiled winningly, rubbing the sore spot on his ribs.

Nanao frowned. "If you don't know the way, I understand. Thank you for offering your assistance, Kyōraku-kun." She walked away from him, calculating that this was the best way to get him to help her, although it was a bit of a gamble. If he didn't find her interesting enough he wouldn't come after her.

But his steps echoed after hers and he spoke over her shoulder. "Please call me Shunsui, Nanao-chan. If you're determined to go to the midnight garden, I can bring you there. A sempai should help others, after all." He made a face that Nanao supposed was meant to be dashing, but looked ridiculous.

She laughed. "My sempai? What makes you so sure of that?" She raised an eyebrow in challenge.

He grasped her elbow, guiding her in the direction of the storm as they walked through the huge courtyard. "You're such a delightful and fresh girl, Nanao-chan. I'm sure I would have noticed you if you were at the Academy in the winter semester." His hand strolled away from her elbow, tiptoeing toward an area of her body he found more interesting.

She slapped him in the face with the book without thinking, the same as she would have done to her Captain if he'd tried such an obvious move. But Kyōraku-kun was not her Captain, and she'd hit him pretty hard. "Are you alright?"

He wiggled his nose gingerly. "I'm fine, Nanao-chan! Yare, yare. You have such excellent reflexes. Do you study martial arts here?"

He didn't seem offended, which was a relief as she needed his cooperation. But he'd really deserved a physical rebuke for his behavior. "It's not my primary area of study. Mainly I focus on kidō."

"Kidō? Is that how you got that bird to sit on your shoulder?"

She gave him a sidelong glance. "Did you only notice Sūkikyō now?"

He shrugged. "It's a very handsome bird, but everything fades in the face of a girl as lovely as you. Which housing block are you in, Nanao-chan? I'm in Four, if you'd like to visit me later."

"That would be inappropriate. How long is this courtyard?" She added the question under her breath. This was a much heavier dose of flirting than she'd expect from her Captain. Perhaps he really had learned some discretion over the years, if only to cut down on the amount of blows to the head he took.

"It's a very large courtyard, made for the training of the Academy students," he said cheerfully, although she hadn't meant him to hear her question. "What level of kidō are you taking?"

She turned the book so that he could see the title.

"Advanced kidō in your first year at the Academy? That's impressive. You must be very talented."

"I work very hard," Nanao said primly.

"What do you do when you aren't working hard?" he asked, obviously seeking an opening.

"I go to the library to study other subjects. What do you study here?"

He waved his hand airily. "A little of everything."

"Everything? Isn't there anything you're serious about?" She narrowed her eyes at him. How had he ever passed his classes at the Academy, with an attitude like that one?

"I could be very serious about you." He gave her that bright grin again.

"I didn't come to the Academy to study boys." But it was fun, bantering with him like this.

Kyōraku-kun considered that for a moment. "Did you prefer to study girls?" he asked.

"What?" She blinked at him. "Oh—that's not it."

He wagged his eyebrows. "That's good, Nanao-chan. It's a really nice picture—" She glared at him ferociously. "—but I would be heartbroken if I didn't have a chance with you."

"What makes you think you have a chance with me now?" she huffed.

He leaned down to her ear. "If I didn't, you wouldn't be enjoying this so much. We have a spark, Nanao-chan."

She couldn't deny that, but she wouldn't admit it, either. "It's irrelevant. I need to study."

"Your dedication is remarkable, Nanao-chan, but everyone needs to relax sometimes. I could help you with that." He tried to look innocent and helpful. She didn't believe it for a moment.

"I need to study. I do not need to relax." She'd slipped right back into her mindset at the Academy.

"But Nanao-chan, stress is almost dripping off you." He put his arm around her shoulders as if comforting her. She elbowed him hard in the ribs. His arm retreated. "The same spot as before. You have amazing aim, Nanao-chan."

"Excellent targeting is a prerequisite for effective combat kidō."

"So talented and beautiful, I'm in love." He pressed his hand over his heart dramatically.

"Don't say that so frivolously," Nanao snapped.

"It's not frivolous." She turned on her heel to glare at him, and he gave her a surprisingly serious look. "Today I met a girl with bright indigo eyes that can wield a book like a weapon. She can tame animals and takes advanced classes in her first year. Doesn't that sound like someone special, Nanao-chan?"

She adjusted her glasses, her cheeks warm. It was his fault. _Indigo eyes?_ Who said things like that seriously? "I can't tame animals. Sūkikyō is unique."

"Don't bring me into this," Sūkikyō said.

"Nanao-chan is unique, and I really want to see you again. When do you normally go to the mess hall? I can meet you there. We could get some monaka and take a walk under the moon." He walked backwards confidently, so that he could look at her face.

"No." She saw his eyes widen out of the corner of her eye. "Dango."

"Dango?" he asked.

"Dango is my favorite," she said, pressing her lips together. Maybe she should have left it at a hard refusal, but this memory would become one of his when his soul was healed, and she didn't want to give him a bad one. There was a part of her that thought if they had been at the Academy together, before rank and propriety and duty had come down heavily on both of them, she would have walked with him in the moonlight eating dango. Not the first time he asked, of course; maybe not even the tenth time.

But eventually, she would have said _yes_ to him.

The two of them were always moving towards _yes_. Even in the First Division, even with the weight of their responsibilities heavy on their shoulders, they were always moving towards each other.

"Dango is sweet Nanao-chan's favorite? Then we'll get dango, of course." Kyōraku-kun grinned, his pleasure obvious. "Nanao-chan—"

He was interrupted by a screaming rip in the sky, the oily octopus Hollows leaking out, larger and more menacing than the ones she'd seen in the flower fields.

Kyōraku grabbed her hand, running with her through the courtyard. "You should get out of here, Nanao-chan. It's dangerous," he shouted.

"I need to get to the midnight garden. I can't turn back!" She wondered if he heard her over the cries of the Hollows.

At the far gate of the courtyard he stopped. Nanao ran into his back, hard. "I'll keep the Hollows here. Go on to the midnight garden if you have to, Nanao-chan. Run, and please meet me later for dango under the moon." He smiled, stepping back into the courtyard, the Hollows close behind him.

"Thank you, Kyōraku-kun. We'll meet again." She raised her hand in farewell and then turned, running for the storm roaring closer and closer.

"Don't look back, Nanao," Sūkikyō said softly.

"Him, too? I want to save Captain Kyōraku. I have to save Captain Kyōraku. But I really—" She swallowed. She'd liked Kyōraku-kun, liked his brash manner and easy grin and even the warmth of his arm over her shoulders. She didn't want him to be lost.

"I know, Nanao." Sūkikyō tapped her shoulder with his foot. "We don't know what will happen. Maybe what's been taken by the infection can be recovered."

It was an unusual piece of optimism for Sūkikyō, and Nanao knew it was for her benefit. "Thank you, Sūkikyō."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **This is my fifth chapter for the Week of Love giveaway happening July 6th - July 12th at the shunsui_nanao community at Livejournal. My pieces are written as chapters for this story, and I'll be posting chapters each day, finishing on Friday, seven chapters in all. Most days will have two chapters because of my late start!

Prompts for the whole story: Romantic getaway, vacation, travel, and resorts

**Contains:** Spoilers through Bleach manga chapter 520, canon-typical violence.

I also added a bit more to chapter 4, because Shunsui and Nanao needed more flirting. Thanks for your reviews and thanks for reading! ^_^

* * *

Nanao reached for flash step again and found it still missing. Perhaps she wouldn't be able to use it at all here. "Sūkikyō, can you please find the next memory of Captain Kyōraku?"

The cardinal flew off, flapping hard at the wind. The brutal storm in twisting flares of fire and lightning was close, but the landscape of refined buildings and rolling hills didn't resemble a garden at all and there were no signs of battle, so she hadn't arrived at the midnight garden yet.

Sūkikyō circled back to her, his wings stuttering in mid-air. "Sūkikyō!" Nanao ran forward, lifting her arms to catch him. When she brought him down her sleeves had changed from the Shinigami Academy uniform to an elaborate brocaded silk. It was an elegant kimono, not that she cared right now. "Sūkikyō, are you alright?"

The bird scoffed at her, but it was only bluster. She could see that he was faltering. "It's nothing. I just need a moment to recover. Your Captain is in the second street of the town by the entrance from the West."

"Thank you, Sūkikyō. Please rest now." Nanao cradled the bird against her bright obi, walking through the streets of an empty town on wooden sandals. Her hair tinkled when she moved, her hair ornaments in glass and silk swaying. Nanao and the town were both dressed for a festival or a celebration of some kind. Lights hung in paper lanterns, pushing back the evening sky, and colorful banners edged with flowers hung across the buildings. The trees were decorated with paper wishes.

She rounded the corner of the street Sūkikyō indicated and saw her Captain's back, clad in a pink haori, his hat on his head. "Captain!" she called, her relief overwhelming. But when he turned she realized he wasn't _her_ Captain. He was a younger version, a memory of Captain Kyōraku's. His beard was really only stubble and he didn't have lines under his eyes or around his mouth. The haori had a different pattern.

"I hate to see a beautiful woman in distress on a happy occasion like this one. I'm Shunsui Kyōraku, Captain of the Eighth Division. Please tell me what I can do for you." He'd landed in front of her with a flourish, flash stepping to her aid as soon as he'd seen her.

It was so like him that she smiled, despite the situation. "I'm Nanao Ise. Sūkikyō and I are trying to get somewhere, but we're having trouble."

"Having trouble?" He moved closer, his sleeves brushing hers, bending to see Sūkikyō cradled in her hands. "Let's take a look." His hand lit with kidō and Kyōraku ran his fingers gently over Sūkikyō's wings and chest.

"I'm fine," Sūkikyō snapped in brisk chirps.

Nanao shook her head. "You're not fine." She watched Kyōraku apply healing kidō to Sūkikyō while Kyōraku watched her face.

"Is Sūkikyō your pet cardinal, Nanao-chan?" Kyōraku asked. He was very close, almost touching her body with his. He smelled just the way he should, like the outdoors and soap and his favorite sake. She knew he wasn't her Captain—he was a memory, like the others—but she tilted her head, breathing deeply. If she closed her eyes she could pretend that she was at the Tanabata festival with her Captain and nearly believe it.

He was staring at her and she realized that she hadn't answered him yet. Her cheeks pinked with the embarrassment of being caught sniffing him, but a quick glance at his eyes to gauge his reaction deepened her blush. His eyes were silver and glittering, intensely focused on her. Her Captain looked at her this way sometimes, but it was different. There was always the pull of their duties and history together tugging against the pull of their attraction to each other. She was a stranger to this Captain Kyōraku, and it was an oddly liberating feeling.

His free hand rubbed Sūkikyō's head and then dipped down, caressing her cupped hands, his palm pressing against the back of her hands as if to help her hold Sūkikyō up, but that wasn't what this was. She licked her lips, suddenly nervous for reasons unrelated to her mission.

"Is Sūkikyō your pet, Nanao-chan?" he asked, softly this time. She met his eyes and felt hot sparks leaping through her.

Sūkikyō made a disdainful sound that was nearly a quack of rejection, ruining the moment.

"No, he's—he's been with me for a long time. We're friends now, I suppose." Nanao couldn't see if the kidō was having an effect on Sūkikyō; being in this Inner World was like not having any spiritual powers at all.

"Is that better, Sūkikyō-chan?" Kyōraku stopped the kidō. Sūkikyō pecked him once, sharply, in rebuke for the –chan, no doubt.

Sūkikyō flew up to Nanao's shoulder, perching there.

Kyōraku waved his hand to ease the sting. "He bites."

"So do I," Nanao said, easing her hands away from his. She had to remember her purpose, and not get carried away by her feelings.

Kyōraku laughed. "Maybe that's an enticement to me, Nanao-chan."

She ignored him. "Are you feeling better, Sūkikyō?"

"I'm fine. Stop coddling me," the bird said, grouchy.

Nanao smiled. She tipped her face up to Kyōraku's. The lanterns cast flickering shadows over his face. "Thank you for your help, Captain."

He looked surprised and then smiled widely. "You're welcome. I'm always happy to help when I'm rewarded with such a lovely smile."

Nanao arched her brow. It was a familiar line from him, but the warmth in his voice was real, as it always was when he said it to her. Was he always sincere in this sentiment? She'd heard it dozens, perhaps hundreds of times. "I need to be going. Thank you, Captain."

"Don't leave yet, Nanao-chan. Where are you going? I'll escort you." He offered her his arm.

She considered for a moment and then wrapped her hand around his biceps. "I need to go to the midnight garden."

"It's dangerous to go there right now, Nanao-chan. Isn't there anywhere else you'd rather go?"

"No. I know it's dangerous, that's why I need to go." She started to lift her hand off his arm but he covered her hand with his much larger one. She permitted his touch without comment. His help was important to her, but that wasn't why she tightened her hold on his arm.

"There's nothing I can say to change your mind?" She shook her head and he nodded. "I knew that already, but I thought I would try. If I let you go there without trying to stop you, I'd regret it." He smiled again but his eyes were serious.

"Will you take me there?" she asked softly.

"Yes. It's safer if I bring you instead of letting you go alone." He started walking with her in the direction of the storm.

"Thank you." Nanao was relieved that he wouldn't try to stop her.

"You're a very stubborn person, Nanao-chan."

She glanced up at him, her eyes wide. "What? Can you draw such a conclusion about me already?"

His face and voice were contemplative. "It's strange, but as soon as I saw you, I felt that I knew you."

"Are you really using such tired lines, Captain?" Nanao forced amusement into her voice.

"No. It's not a line. I knew you, and you knew me, too. It was in your voice when you called for me and in your face when you saw me. Wasn't it, Nanao-chan?"

She turned her face away. "The situation is complicated."

"I'm sure that it is. The midnight garden is of my Inner World, but you are most definitely not of my Inner World. You don't have to explain it to me," he said when she opened her mouth. "Just tell me if what I saw in your eyes was for me." His fingertips traced her cheekbone.

She swallowed. What had he seen in her eyes? How much of this encounter would he remember later, when his soul was repaired? But she couldn't, wouldn't lie to him when he asked her so seriously, with longing laid heavy in his voice. She wanted to tell him, because longing had welled up in her, too. "Yes," she said in a bare whisper.

If they'd met as strangers at a festival, they would have been lovers.

He didn't speak for a long moment. "Thank you, Nanao-chan." He stopped, lifting her up into his arms bridal style. "Hold on to Sūkikyō."

"What?" Nanao drew the bird into her lap just before Kyōraku leaped into flash step.

He took only two steps, landing on the bank of a river. He set Nanao carefully on her feet. "The midnight garden is across this river." The storm howled, frighteningly close. There was a long wooden bridge several feet away from where they'd landed.

"Thank you for bringing me here, Captain." Something in the water caught her eye. She drew in a sharp breath when she realized the object was a white skull bobbing in the strong current. As soon as she recognized the skull she realized there were many more bones in the water, and that what she'd thought was the burning reflection of the storm's fire on the surface was not that at all.

The river was running blazing red with blood.

She nearly asked if this was an effect of the Hollow's attack, but she knew that it wasn't. This river was a natural part of his Inner World.

"Are you afraid, Nanao-chan?" he asked, his voice even and curious.

"No," she said immediately. She knew him, and he would never hurt her, no matter what his Inner World looked like.

He didn't smile but his eyes were dark with pleasure. "I'm glad. Come with me." He pressed a hand to her back, guiding her to the bridge. "On the other side, be wary of the shadows and don't play games with anyone but me."

Nanao nodded. She was so close, and there was still time to save him. She took one step onto the bridge.

The sky behind them tore open, the oily ink of the infection Hollows pouring out. They were the same size as the one they'd met in the fog and screeched in oddly mechanical rage. Kyōraku glanced back. "It looks like I can't go with you, Nanao-chan. Run across the bridge. The garden is there."

"Thank you." She spun to the bridge.

She felt his lips on the nape of her neck in a ghost of a kiss and shivered in reaction. "We'll meet again soon, Nanao-chan." He didn't ask this time; he was certain.

"Yes." She ran across the bridge, hearing the sound of his swords behind her. The bridge was much longer than it appeared from the bank of the river. The roar of the storm and the roar of the river were deafening together.

She looked back once, knowing she shouldn't, and saw one of his swords crumbling to ash in his hand. She held back a cry.

"Don't look, Nanao." Sūkikyō shifted to her shoulder. "Nearly there," he said, and the determination in his voice propelled her forward.

The storm burned at the edge of the bridge, the force of the heat shattering one of the delicate glass ornaments in Nanao's hair, the silk flowers shriveling and falling. "We keep going forward, no matter what happens." She cupped a hand over Sūkikyō protectively and pushed on.

She could barely move against the pressure of the hot wind, and closed her eyes against the flying sparks. Breathing was painful—her lungs burned from the ash. Still she kept going, even when she thought her skin would crackle and flake away like broken porcelain. After an eternity of burning she broke through the storm with so much force that she fell to the ground.

Her hands caught in the rich black soil, her fingers brushing something firm. _Bone_. A cheerful skull grinned up at her from the earth, a moonflower blooming out of one eye socket. She'd reached the midnight garden at last.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **This is my sixth chapter for the Week of Love giveaway happening July 6th - July 12th at the shunsui_nanao community at Livejournal. My pieces are written as chapters for this story. These last two chapters are a little bit late, because the last chapter got pretty long, but I needed to keep these two chapters together. This chapter has a cliffhanger that I wouldn't put up alone. ^_^;

Prompts for the whole story: Romantic getaway, vacation, travel, and resorts

**Contains:** Spoilers through Bleach manga chapter 520, canon-typical violence.

Thanks for your reviews, I appreciate them! Thanks for reading! ^_^

* * *

Nanao pushed herself up to her knees, wiping the dirt on her hands on the black fabric of her pants. She was back in her uniform, which she took as a sign that she was in the right place at last. "Are you alright, Sūkikyō?"

"Yes." He ruffled his feathers.

Inside the storm it was eerily quiet. A full moon hung low in the night sky. The storm lit up the darkness with flares of fire, but it was contained to circling the garden. "We have to hurry." Nanao stood, searching for flash step again. She'd been hopeful when she saw her uniform that her powers would return, but there was still nothing. If Captain Kyōraku was fighting here, how would she help him without any powers?

But she couldn't worry about that now. She ran through the garden on twisting paths of crushed stone, surrounded by night blooming flowers and bones hung and displayed as decorations. Skulls filled with flowers swayed from the branches of the trees. Alluring fragrances promised sensual delights down the side paths, but she stayed on the path winding to the center of the garden.

As she'd expected, the trail opened up to the heart of the midnight garden. The space was huge, with benches and a fountain made of towering bones in the center. Three tiers of grinning skulls had originally poured black liquid into the wide bowl at the base of the fountain. But the fountain and benches were broken, with sharp pieces scattered everywhere. A fight had taken place here. Nanao ran deeper into the garden, hesitating near the fountain. What flowed from the broken bowl was not water, it was—_shadows?_

She gave it a wide berth. "Captain?" she called, a little desperate. She'd assumed once she made it to the midnight garden her Captain would be here and her next actions would become clear. "Captain?"

A rustle in the trees on the other side of the clearing drew her attention and she hurried in that direction. But it wasn't Kyōraku that rose up and snapped the trees in half—instead it was a huge version of the mechanized Hollow. It howled in rage, whipping its tentacles, cracking trees apart in explosions of wood. It was destroying the garden.

Nanao froze. She didn't dare to call for her Captain again and risk drawing the monster to her. "Sūkikyō," she whispered.

"I know." He slipped off her shoulder, flying low, as sneaky as a bright red bird could be.

Nanao watched him without moving, standing near the shadows leaking out of the broken fountain. The shadows almost seemed to reach for her foot, and she took a cautious sidestep away. Sūkikyō circled a spot near the trees to the east of the fountain. The Hollow smashed trees to the north. Nanao dropped slowly into a crouch, crawling across the bits of broken bone and crushed flowers to Sūkikyō.

"Where is he?" she breathed when she reached the bird.

"Straight ahead. He's in the bramble, sinking into the soil," Sūkikyō said quietly.

"Into the soil? What?"

"He's dying, Nanao." Sūkikyō's voice was hard with certainty, but he must be wrong. Captain Kyōraku couldn't die to a Hollow he'd killed in one strike, not when he'd lived so long, when he was so powerful, when Nanao had come so far to save him.

She ran to the bramble, suddenly careless about the Hollow across the clearing. "Captain?" The bramble was thick and thorny, obscuring anything under it. She tore away at the vines with her bare hands until they were slippery with her blood. Flowers bloomed as blood dripped on the vines. Finally she'd cleared enough to see Captain Kyōraku's face. He was bruised and bleeding from minor cuts, his eye closed.

She ripped away at the brambles fiercely. "Sūkikyō, is there any way to get my tantō or a little kidō?" She panted for air, wiping her brow and streaking it with blood.

Sūkikyō hopped closer. He concentrated, but tipped his head down and said, "No. I'm sorry, Nanao. Keeping the connection to this Inner World is taking all of my strength. I can't do anything more."

"I understand. Thank you, Sūkikyō."

"Nanao, the garden is taking him back."

"He's not dead," Nanao snapped. She dug into the brambles, clearing her Captain's face and neck. "Captain?" She tapped his cheek.

His eye opened slowly.

"Captain?" She leaned down into the bramble, struggling to free enough of his chest for her to try and pull him out with an underarm grip.

He blinked, his eye unfocused. "Nanao-chan?"

She smiled, relief crashing over her until she was shaky. "Yes, I'm here. Can you move at all?"

"Nanao-chan. Why are you here?" Genuine confusion blurred his voice.

"I'm your Vice Captain," she said, as if that answered everything. It was only a piece of what had her ripping vines away from him, but he would understand that without words. The Hollow roared and Nanao lifted her head to check its position. It had destroyed half of the northern perimeter of the clearing and was heading towards the eastern boundary.

Towards them.

The dullness cleared from his eye, his gaze sharp on her. "Nanao-chan, you need to go."

"That's not going to happen. I'm going to get you out of this bramble, and then—" What would she do then, without powers, in his Inner World? "—we'll defeat the Hollow infection and we'll go home. Or on vacation, if you're still up to it." She spoke crisply, as if their success was certain.

"It's too late. Please, Nanao-chan, get out of here." His voice was urgent.

Drops of her blood ran down his face as she struggled to get a solid foothold in the bramble above him. "No. Don't you want to go on vacation with me, Captain?" She reached into the soil, fighting to push her arms around his chest, to find a grip on him in the earth and thorns and blood.

The trees around them vibrated with the force of the slicing blows the Hollow delivered at the northeast corner of the clearing.

"Nanao-chan, listen to me. You have to leave me."

She ignored his continued pleas to abandon him, heaving with all her strength. She pulled him a bare inch out of the earth and was exhausted. But she kept trying, straining and fighting to free his limp body.

"Nanao-chan, stop. You can't lift me out. Even if you could, it's not as if you can take me out of my own Inner World. You need to go, please." An edge of desperation roughened his words.

"No. I'm you're Vice Captain, my duty is with you." She smiled but her eyes were wet. She couldn't lift him, not when the garden was trying so hard to drag him under. "Where is Katen Kyōkotsu? Shouldn't she be here?"

The Hollow roared, much closer than before.

"She was hurt—damaged. The fountain was broken." His voice softened. "Nanao-chan, stop. You can't help me now, sweetheart."

She shook her head. "No. The Fourth Division will heal you, and if that won't do, the Twelfth Division will give you artificial parts until you're recovered." Her foot slipped, her grip lost, and she tumbled down with him into the soil. She tried to fall away from his body but landed half on him anyway.

He hissed in pain, his breathing uneven. "The Twelfth Division would make me a machine, Nanao-chan."

"I don't care. It doesn't matter, as long as you're still you. As long as I can stay beside you, it doesn't matter what you look like."

The trees shook, branches falling away as the Hollow closed in.

"Nanao-chan, please, you have to leave me. You're so young. There's so much more life for you. Go, _please_." He was hoarse from pleading with her.

Her tears ran freely down her cheeks when he begged her to go. She said nothing, digging out the earth around his sides. She wouldn't let the garden take him, no matter what.

Kyōraku didn't give up. "Sūkikyō, please. Take her out of here, now. If you don't close the connection soon, she'll die here."

Sūkikyō dropped to the edge of the bramble. "Nanao."

She wrapped her arms around her Captain's chest again, locking her hands together behind him, straining to lift him. He barely moved. It was as if he was rooted in the soil—and he might really be, given what he'd said. She released him, falling to her knees and straddling the earth over him. The brambles cut her, but she was numb to that pain. The shattering pain of her failure overwhelmed anything else.

"Nanao-chan." His voice was gentle, so gentle.

An ancient tree fell only a dozen yards away. She looked at the Hollow, at Sūkikyō, but not at her Captain. "I'm sorry, Sūkikyō."

The bird stared up at the brilliant night sky. "I know. Losing your life here is a huge waste. But Nanao must always be Nanao, right?"

She leaned down over Captain Kyōraku, propping her weight up with her hands on either side of his head. Still she couldn't look at his eye, instead focusing on his throat, his wide mouth with his lips cracked and pale, and his strong and bearded jaw.

"Nanao-chan," he murmured, and she finally met his gaze. She was surprised to see his eye was wet, the rich gray darkened by pain.

She lifted a hand to his face, but hesitated to touch him. She spoke softly instead. "The ninjas will find a way out soon. They were from the Kuchiki clan. Everyone knows that clan's ninjas are the very best. And the Fourth Division will be able to heal this damage. They've healed much worse conditions than this, remember?"

"Nanao-chan, _please_."

She shook her head, a weak smile on her face for him. "I'm your Vice Captain. What do you expect me to do without you?"

"Live. I expect you to live. It's an order." His voice was raw and fierce. He never gave her orders so directly, had never needed to before.

"I'm sorry, Captain." Trees fell, very close, but she kept her eyes on his face. She would remember him, remember Shunsui-kun and Kyōraku-kun and Captain Kyōraku. She would remember him until her last breath, and beyond that, if she could manage it. Hesitantly her fingertips traced his cheekbone. "I thought there would be more time."

"What did you want in that time, Nanao-chan?"

"Even though it was selfish of me, when you're important to so many people, I still wanted there to be time for us." Her tears fell on his face, dark with blood and dirt. "But I'm not strong enough to win here."

"Don't cry, sweetheart. You can still save me. Go with Sūkikyō, return to the real world. You've seen the infection up close and you can give the Fourth valuable information. Go, Nanao-chan. Go and save me." He was desperate and clever, but she knew his tricks, knew him.

"It's much too late for that. The Hollow will be here in another minute. Can you dig down further? I'll pull the brambles over you, and maybe he'll miss you while he's focused on the trees." She sat up, piling dirt over him as camouflage, tugging the brambles she'd fought so hard to take off him back down. What could she do to win him more time? There must be something. She was desperate and clever, too.

"I love you, Nanao-chan."

She froze, swallowing hard. Of course he would try to use her feelings for him as leverage. Hadn't he taught her to use any weapon at hand to achieve important goals? It was an excellent tactic, and it made her breath hitch painfully, her heart faltering as if he'd stabbed her. She couldn't look at him. "Don't. Don't be cruel." The Hollow roared, deafeningly close. "There's no more time. Stay still and quiet, Captain." She stood, waving her arms and running across the clearing. "Here! Over here!"

The Hollow twisted on inky tentacles, chasing her down. She ran hard for the fountain at the center, the Hollow gaining ground on her with her every step.

"Nanao-chan!" Captain Kyōraku shouted, and the Hollow turned.

"No! I'm here! Right here!" she called, and the Hollow came for her again. The fountain was close, the Hollow closer. She leaped for a small pile of bone surrounded by the liquid shadows of the fountain. The black fluid lifted up in peaks, seemingly interested in her.

She jumped to the edge of the fountain, surrounded entirely by the wet shadows but not touching them. The Hollow rushed for her without any care for the shadows. They rose up over its tentacles, curling around the Hollow. Still it hunted Nanao, ramming forward until it shattered the fountain.

A sharp tentacle slapped her away and she saw her blood floating up into the air. She landed half in the shadows on her side. Her head hit the crushed stone of the clearing and it was hard, nearly impossible, to breathe. She touched her chest and felt a long tear in her uniform and her flesh. It was strange to feel the edges of her bones exposed to the air. But the shadows were coating the Hollow, drowning it, and its screams sounded more like agony than rage now. Everything felt unreal to her, as if she was watching through a pane of uneven glass.

The shadows crept up Nanao's legs, cool and wet. Sūkikyō fluttered down onto her shoulder. "Nanao! Can you hear me, Nanao?"

She opened her mouth but couldn't speak. Her vision blurred, her ears ringing. She thought she saw a woman rise out of the shadow, but Nanao couldn't be sure if anyone was really there. Quiet fell over the midnight garden, the Hollow disappearing in a pool of darkness.

Captain Kyōraku came to her. Whether it was moments or hours after she fell, she didn't know. The shadows had nearly covered her now. It was comforting somehow, even if they might devour her like they had the Hollow. She thought she might be imagining him, until she felt his hands on her, pulling her gently out of the blanketing shadows. "Nanao-chan?" He laid her on her back, holding her hand between his large ones.

He was alive. She'd gambled that the shadows in the fountain were a center of his power here, and she'd been right. The Hollow had chased her thoughtlessly, and now there was more time. She was so glad. Even though she'd been powerless, almost useless, at the end she'd succeeded.

"Nanao-chan, it's going to be alright. Sūkikyō will take you out of here, and then you'll be fine." He sounded so worried, but he was alive, and that was what was important. She wanted to speak, but her lungs were full of liquid. But it was alright, just as he'd said, because there would be more time now.

Sūkikyō wheezed on Captain Kyōraku's leg, his bright red body disintegrating into the air.

Her hand faded from his hold, her body breaking down. She understood, tried to smile for him.

He would have more time.

Without her.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **This is my final chapter for the Week of Love giveaway happening July 6th - July 12th at the shunsui_nanao community at Livejournal. My pieces are written as chapters for this story. These last two chapters are a little bit late, because the last chapter got pretty long, but I needed to keep the last two chapters together.

Prompts for the whole story: Romantic getaway, vacation, travel, and resorts

**Contains:** Spoilers through Bleach manga chapter 520, canon-typical violence.

* * *

The sun was warm on Nanao's face. Her back felt warm too, and it was wonderful after being cold for so long. The cold had seemed endless. It wasn't the painful cold that risked life and limb or the pleasant cold that made her finger and toes tingle when she returned indoors; this cold was a deep, numbing ice that gave neither pain nor pleasure. It was nothingness.

She'd feared death was an endless night frozen under the ice of a deep ocean.

But now she was warming, her fingers and toes tingling in that pleasant way. She breathed in, and could smell the scent of trees, of the outdoors and soap and sake. Had she fallen asleep outside with her Captain? How embarrassing that would be.

But she'd been dead at the bottom of an ocean.

She pushed her eyes to open, blinded by the brightness after an eternity in the dark.

"Slowly, Nanao-chan," she heard, and it was his voice, Captain Kyōraku's voice. No, it couldn't be him. She'd left him alive in his Inner World. Or had she been delirious before dying?

She blinked rapidly, trying to focus her eyes. It was his voice, his scent, his face above hers and his arms cradling her. "Did I fail? Did you die, too?" It was painful to speak, her throat raw and dry.

An answering pain lit in his eye. "You didn't fail. We're both alive, Nanao-chan."

"I was dead," she said, because it was the one thing that was certain.

"I was hoping you wouldn't remember that." He winced and she wondered if he was injured.

"I have an excellent memory, Captain." Tingling life returned to her biceps, her calves and thighs. It stung, but it was a pleasant pain.

He smiled, a bit rueful. "You always have. But if any of the investigators or anyone from the Central 46 asks, it would be best if you didn't remember dying."

"What did you do?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him. He'd done something he shouldn't have, that was clear.

"Yare, yare. There's no need to concern lovely Nanao-chan with the details," he said airily.

"It was something forbidden, wasn't it?"

"Some of it was forbidden. Some of it has just been forgotten through time." He shook his head when she opened her mouth. "I'm not going to tell you about it. Let's just say that it's a combination of forbidden and dangerous kidō that I don't really want you to know."

"Why? If it's powerful enough to push back death, then it's something that I want to know." Her brow furrowed.

"It has a very limited set of applications, but if a situation ever arose where you could use it on me, I think that you would use it to save my life, no matter the cost." His gaze was steady on hers, but she looked away. Leaves and sky were all around them.

Her lap tingled, the base of her spine flickering to life. "I'm your Vice Captain. Shouldn't I do anything to save your life? It's my duty." Could she still hide behind that now? Would he let her?

"I'm sure there are people who would say yes to your question, Nanao-chan. But I'm not one of them, and you know that. I don't want you to die for me." There was no softness in his voice, which was rare. He always had softness for her.

She felt movement in her lap and glanced down. Sūkikyō was there, sleeping against one of her thighs. Why were they in her Inner World? But there was a more important question to ask. "Are you angry with me?"

"I gave you a direct order and you didn't take it. That's not acceptable for a Vice Captain, is it?" he asked evenly.

Her eyes stung. She tipped her head down. "That's true. I was insubordinate. I willfully, deliberately disobeyed your orders. But I can't say that I'm sorry, because I'm not. If I could trade my life for yours in a deadly situation, I would always make that choice." He didn't say anything for a long moment, and she opened her eyes to judge his mood. His jaw was set in a way that she recognized, his lips pressed together tightly. "You're really angry with me," she said, looking down at Sūkikyō.

He sighed, and she felt his chest move against her back. They sat on a thick branch of a tree in her Inner World, her Captain's back against the truck of the tree. She was sitting on one of his thighs, she realized, resting against his chest. His arms held her, one wrapped around her back, a large hand resting on her waist, his other arm across her legs, his hand on the side of her thigh to keep her from falling away from him and out of the tree.

It was a position that she should object to for the sake of propriety, but she couldn't spare any concern for that now. "Are you going to replace me?" Her voice cracked on the last word; it was so hard to ask.

"No." He shifted her closer, rubbing her back. She pressed her cheek against his chest, too relieved to speak. "I'm not happy about what you did, because your life is precious to me. But the truth is that any good Vice Captain will have the same feeling about saving their Captain. I probably couldn't get a different answer from one unless they had no loyalty or sense of duty, and that's not exactly what anyone wants in their Vice Captain."

"Thank you, Captain." He wasn't going to take her job away. It hurt that he was angry with her, but she could live with that. As long as he was alive she could make it up to him in some way.

"We'll talk about this again, because it's important that we both understand what's acceptable in a situation with our lives at risk. I want us to have clear boundaries, Nanao-chan."

Boundaries? When had he ever wanted any boundaries in their relationship? She swallowed. She'd told him that she wanted more time with him when they were in his Inner World. He must have understood her meaning, since he'd tried to use a declaration of love to manipulate her into leaving him. Were her feelings so unwelcome to him that he needed boundaries between them? "I understand," she said quietly. She eased back from his chest. "You're in my Inner World." She wanted desperately to change the subject before he said anything more specific and humiliating about what she'd admitted in the midnight garden.

"Yes. We needed to be sure you could wake up here first, so that the Fourth could be certain you would be able to wake up in your body in the real world." He glanced down at Sūkikyō. "He was awake when I made the connection between us, keeping watch over you, but he was really exhausted. It took most of his strength to keep even a tenuous connection from your consciousness to your body, given the way you left my Inner World."

Sūkikyō had done his best for her, even though she'd disregarded his advice several times and refused to leave her Captain's Inner World before she died. She stroked Sūkikyō's head gently, if a little clumsily. Her hands were still a bit stiff from the ice. "He's always been strong for me. Even when it seems impossible, he works so hard. I can't repay him for what he's done."

"You can repay him, Nanao-chan. He's your zanpakutō, so he's a part of you. What he wants is for you to live well, to be happy. Repay him in that way." He moved his hand from her thigh to pet the feathers of Sūkikyō's bright chest. "I was impressed by him, too. He's so small. But he's strong and he works hard no matter the circumstances, just as you said. Remember that those are your qualities, too. He reflects you."

Her cheeks warmed, a blush bringing tingling life to her skin. "Is Katen Kyōkotsu here, too?" Nanao had never gotten a clear look at her in his Inner World, if she'd really seen his zanpakutō at all.

"She's here. She likes to keep to the shadows, though. You have a very bright Inner World, Nanao-chan. It's beautiful." He leaned his head back, looking up at the sky. "I would love to have some sunshine in my Inner World."

"There was sunshine there. It was only in one place, but I saw it." It'd been daylight at the Shinigami Academy when she'd gone walking in the courtyard with Kyōraku-kun.

He gave her a quizzical look. "There's no sunshine in my Inner World, Nanao-chan. The forest of bones, the river, the midnight garden—it's always night there."

The Academy had been one of his memories, not one of the regular parts of his Inner World. Did he not remember walking with her there? "Captain, was there anything strange or out of place in your memory when you woke up?"

"No, there was nothing wrong with my memory when I woke up," he said clearly. So he didn't remember her talking about games with Shunsui-kun, or the dango under the moonlight she'd promised Kyōraku-kun, or the kiss on her nape that Captain Kyōraku gave her at the festival. "Why do you ask?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing. Just a concern that Sūkikyō had. But it seems everything is fine." It hurt that he didn't remember those meetings; they'd meant so much to her, but hadn't even happened for him. Maybe it was for the best. He wanted boundaries now. It would only be more humiliating for her if he had to explain that he'd flirted with her, wanted her, only when she was a stranger to him.

Maybe their responsibilities and duty to each other and their history together would always be too much to move past. She would learn to accept that, given enough time. It'd be enough to stay by his side always, and if it wasn't, she'd just have to figure out how to enjoy what she could have with him and stop longing for what would never be.

"If you feel steady enough, the Fourth Division can wake you up, Nanao-chan."

She forced a smile. "I'm fine." But he hadn't explained everything, probably deliberately. "You mentioned investigators and the Central 46. What happened?"

He scratched his chin. "It seems a few members of the Central 46 were more annoyed by my good health than anyone anticipated. They bribed some of the less scrupulous members of the Twelfth Division for an abandoned prototype."

"The octopus Hollow?"

"Yes. There were only a few members of the Central 46 implicated, and the others are all professing shock and vowing investigations and new security measures, of course."

"I'm sure their concern is staggering," she said, annoyed.

"Don't worry about it, Nanao-chan. I should have been more focused on this before, you were right that there was more risk than I assumed. But I think the failure of this plot will put a damper on any similar plans that might have been brewing in the Central 46." He shrugged.

"Two assassination attempts in short order would get the Central 46 some unpleasant scrutiny. The failure of this experiment might be discouraging, it's true." She sighed. Attempts on his life were something she would have rather been wrong about. "What should I tell the investigators?"

"The truth. Just not all of it. Tell them everything about the Hollow, about the ninjas and deciding to go into my Inner World. But I'd like to keep the specifics of my Inner World private, Nanao-chan." His hand left Sūkikyō to return to her thigh.

His hand was warm through her clothes, but she was focused on the Central 46. "Yes, I understand." It was a vulnerability to have anyone learn too much about his zanpakutō or his Inner World. Nanao probably knew more than anyone else, but she would never betray him. The Central 46 was already certain of her loyalties and wouldn't spend much time trying to press information from her when they wouldn't get anywhere.

"Thank you, Nanao-chan. For everything," he murmured in her ear. Even if he was angry about what she'd done, she'd ended up saving his life.

She tipped her head up, her lips near his ear. "You're welcome, Captain."

He made a sound of pleasure in his throat. "Are you ready to wake up?"

"Yes," she said, and she thought she felt his lips press against her hair before he faded away from her Inner World. She closed her eyes, leaning against the tree, the air suddenly colder than before.

She opened her eyes in a dark room in one of the hospital beds of the Fourth. The beds were unmistakable, with their firm mattresses and plastic coating. Captain Kyōraku rose out of the chair beside the bed. "Hello again, Nanao-chan. Don't try to get up. I'll get Hanatarō-kun."

The cheerful and fumbling Hanatarō wanted to keep her overnight for observation, which she agreed to reluctantly. With her Captain hovering she could hardly refuse medical attention, although she felt fine, just tired. "What day is it?" she asked when Hanatarō left.

"Thursday. We left for the Lakes District on Tuesday, so it's only been a couple days." He stretched his arms over his head and she wondered how long he'd been in the little chair. He looked tired and his beard hadn't been trimmed.

"I see." She yawned widely, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth. How could she be so tired when she'd done nothing but sleep for at least a day?

"Get some rest, Nanao-chan. I'll come back tomorrow to help you home." He patted her hand gently, smiling, and left.

She closed her eyes, curling up on her side, and remembered the way the paper lanterns swayed at the empty festival when she'd walked with her hand on the arm of a Captain Kyōraku that wanted her.

* * *

"You'll do anything to get out of vacation, won't you?" Rangiku scolded, sweeping into the hospital room.

"I was actually looking forward to it a little," Nanao said. She sat on the edge of the bed in the scratchy hospital robe.

Captain Kyōraku filled the doorway. "Are you ready to go home, Nanao-chan?" She knew he must have heard her, but it didn't show on his face and he didn't tease her about it.

"I brought you some clothes, Nanao." Rangiku shooed Kyōraku out and closed the door. "You'll want your own things on when you go home, I'm sure."

"Thank you, Rangiku-san." She dressed in the yukata Rangiku had brought, setting aside the hospital robe.

Rangiku and Captain Kyōraku kept up a steady and light conversation with minimal input from Nanao on the walk back to Nanao's quarters. Sasakibe had built a small house of a British design on the First Division grounds, and Nanao had taken possession of that, Okikiba preferring to stay in the quarters he'd had for decades as the Third Seat. At her door Captain Kyōraku tipped his hat to her. "I have a meeting with the Central 46 soon. Will you be alright for now, Nanao-chan?"

"Yes, I'll be fine. Please go ahead to your meeting," she said, looking away from him. It was hard to hold his gaze; she was afraid that everything she'd felt in his Inner World would show in her eyes. But he didn't have those memories, and he didn't want her love. The way he'd spoken around her admission made it clear that he thought talking about it would be uncomfortable for both of them. If he really loved her romantically, he would have wanted to have that conversation, difficult though it might be.

"Please call me if you need anything, Nanao-chan," he said, and disappeared into flash step with the wind.

Nanao opened the door to the house, stepping in. There was still too much furniture for her tastes, even after giving some of it to members of the First with a sentimental attachment to Sasakibe. She couldn't get rid of the rest yet—she still felt like a guest in someone else's house.

"Is something wrong, Nanao?" Rangiku asked, following her into the house.

Nanao shook her head. "I'm missing something that I never really had."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, I can't. Not yet. Thank you, though, Rangiku-san." She moved through to her kitchen. "Would you like some tea?"

* * *

The moon was rising.

Nanao stood outside on the small porch of the house, looking up at the sky. The moon wouldn't be as full as the one in the midnight garden, but it was close. She closed her eyes, leaning against one of the posts for the roof. She really needed to stop thinking about Captain Kyōraku or she would never get to sleep.

"You're awake. I'm glad, Nanao-chan."

Her eyes snapped open. Captain Kyōraku stood on the path in front of the house, two dango sticks in his hands. "Captain?" she asked, uncertain.

"You promised to eat dango with me under the moon. Do you remember, Nanao-chan?" He smiled, holding out one of the dango sticks for her.

She felt her heart skitter in her chest, her knees suddenly jelly. She leaned more heavily against the post. "You didn't remember. You said so."

He walked up to the house, waiting for her at the bottom of the two shallow steps. "No, I said there was nothing wrong with my memory, and there isn't. I remember everything perfectly. I understand why Sūkikyō thought it might be troubling, but it was easy for me to string the memories together and see what had happened."

"I see." She stepped into her house, emerging with a wrap to wear over her yukata. The chill of the ice had receded more when she woke up, but she could still feel it with the sun gone. "Do you want to go for a walk? That's what you asked for originally, wasn't it?" She didn't know what would happen now, but she wanted to find out. She could do this; hadn't she done something incredibly difficult only a few days ago? Talking a walk with him was easy in comparison.

"I'd like that, if you feel up to it." He handed her one of the dango sticks when she came down the stairs and then offered her his arm. She took it the way she had at the festival, her hand wrapped around his strong biceps.

She ate her dango as they walked, waiting for him to say something more. He'd waited for her to get out of the hospital before having this conversation. Would he bring her out for dango if he didn't want to talk about the connections she'd made with his memories in his Inner World?

They walked out to the park across the street from the First Division, but this time he led her to a bench, sitting down beside her. "I thought a lot about what happened in my Inner World, about what I felt when you died, and when I was able to save you. I thought about my memories of you there, and the moments we'd shared. I wanted to think about all of those things before I talked to you about them."

She set her dango stick aside, her eyelids fluttering down. "What did you want to talk to me about?" It was hard to speak around the nerves tightening her throat.

"The lives we could have led." He leaned back on his hands, looking up at the moon. "If we'd met as children, we would have been fast friends. Nanao-chan would have always been the most important girl to me, and someday you would have been the most important woman to me. As childhood friends, our bond would have grown naturally into love."

"I really enjoyed meeting you as a child. I wish I could have had a friend like you when I was young," she said softly.

He nodded. "Then I thought about the Academy, and what we would have been if we'd met as students. You would have led me on a merry chase, but I would have followed you anywhere, and eventually we would have spent enough time together studying and eating and talking for you to discover all of my charms."

She laughed quietly. "Discover your charms? Is that what you call it?"

He grinned. "But you were a little charmed already, weren't you, Nanao-chan?"

"I'm sure that I was only so slightly charmed that it's hardly worth mentioning." She raised her eyebrow, teasing.

"We would have grown up together, become shinigami together. You would have gone with me to the Eighth Division, and we would have been inseparable and in love."

She tipped her face up to the moon. "Is that how you see it?" she murmured. It was so close to what she'd seen.

"Yes. And then I met you at the festival, when I was already a Captain. You were so lovely, clever and beautiful. I was enchanted by you. If we'd met that way, we would have become lovers soon, and I would have persuaded you to marry me, so that you would always be my love."

She couldn't say anything, drawing a short, tight breath.

"There were so many chances for us to love each other if we'd met in those ways. But we didn't meet in any of those situations. We met when you became the youngest girl in my division and I had already been a Captain for many, many years. There's always been a significant age difference between us. We weren't able to have that pure, instant connection upon meeting as people at the same stage of life. Our relationship has developed along a complicated path, and we have so many memories of each other. We also have important feelings for each other that aren't romantic in nature." He spoke so evenly, so carefully that she could hardly bear it.

Nanao didn't want to force him to reject her explicitly when he'd made himself clear enough already. "I understand. You don't have to say anything else." She stood, taking a step away from him. Her vision was blurring. She wanted to get away from him before she humiliated herself any further. "I'll see you in the office on Monday, Captain."

"Wait, Nanao-chan." His large hand wrapped around her wrist gently. "I haven't finished yet. I need to ask you something before you go."

"What is it, Captain?" she asked, her voice steady by force of will. She didn't turn around.

"How do you feel about dating older men?"

She swallowed. He'd just explained why they couldn't have the kind of romantic relationship that would have arisen naturally out of their meetings in his Inner World. Was he trying to drive home how impossible it was for them? The truth might disappoint him if that was his purpose, so she spoke cautiously. "You said that you wanted boundaries."

"I said that I didn't want you to die for me. I want boundaries that keep you from throwing yourself on a sword for me. I didn't say I wanted boundaries for all of our relationship," he said. "Were you worried about that, sweetheart?"

"Then you don't want us to maintain our current relationship? Or to be more separated from each other?" she asked quietly.

"Separated? Nanao-chan, if I could tear down the boundaries between us with my hands right now, I would do that. Why would you believe that I don't want to be close to you?" He tried to turn her to him.

She resisted. He didn't want the same kind of closeness that she did, not given everything that he'd said and done. She looked out at the street, her eyes unseeing. "When you were in the bramble I told you something." _Even though it was selfish of me, when you're important to so many people, I still wanted there to be time for us._ "But you used it as leverage to get me to leave."

He stood, coming up behind her. "I would have said anything, used anything I could have as leverage then. I wanted you to leave so much. I desperately wanted you to live, Nanao-chan." He spoke low into her ear, his fingers tracing the lines of her shoulder and neck in a way that made her shiver with longing.

"You would have said anything," she repeated dully. "So you lied about the help I could give the Fourth Division, about—other things." She knew that, had known it then, but it still hurt to hear him say it. He didn't love her in the same way she loved him. "I should go." She pulled away from his touch.

"Don't go yet, Nanao-chan. You haven't answered my question about dating." His tone was serious, but the question wasn't serious, and she couldn't take it, not after her hopes had risen with dango under the moon and been crushed with such gentle care.

She spun around slowly, frowning at him. "I can't play with you right now. I know you want to be normal with me, but I can't right now." She breathed deeply, forcing her voice to be cool. "I'll see you on Monday, and everything will be fine then, Captain." She wouldn't be fine, not inside, but she would make sure everything seemed normal to him then.

"Nanao-chan, you've got it wrong. Dating me isn't intended as a joke." He placed his hands on her shoulders gently, but she couldn't look at him.

"Stop. Please, stop." She felt the mortifying prickle of tears behind her eyes.

He lifted his hands off her shoulders, sitting back on the bench quietly. She turned to the street and took one step away, then another. "When I told you I loved you before, you told me not to be cruel. I didn't say that to you then to be cruel, or to try to get you to leave me there, although I did want you to leave me. I said it because I didn't want to die without saying it to you again."

She stilled, unable to breathe, unable to turn to him. "What kind of love?" He'd said that they had many important feelings for each other. She needed to know exactly what he meant.

"I love you in so many ways. That's why it was difficult to decide to take this step. Nanao-chan is really precious to me. I didn't want to ask you for more than you wanted to give me. I didn't want to damage our existing relationship. Our path together has always been slow and winding, looping back on itself over and over."

"Because of how and when we met," she said. It all circled back to that. Maybe history and duty could never be overcome by emotion.

"Yes." She heard him shift on the bench restlessly. It seemed this was as difficult for him as he'd said. "After what happened in my Inner World, I needed to think about what we are to each other, what we could have been if things were different, and what we could be in the future. It was strange, thinking about all of the lives we hadn't lived. Even though my life has been long and satisfying in many ways, I still felt a longing for the lives we couldn't live with each other."

She closed her eyes tightly, but a pair of tears still escaped. She'd laid awake in the dark and longed for a version of the man she loved that could love and desire her, a man that she could have had in another life. "I felt it, too."

His hand clasped loosely around her wrist. "Our history gives us important feelings for each other, and I do love you in all of the ways it's written for us. But I also I love you romantically, Nanao-chan. I want us to have the life together that we've both longed for so much."

He'd brought her out for dango under the moon to talk about what could have been, and what could yet be. He'd brought her here to give her the time she'd wanted with him. She exhaled a shaky breath. "What was your question about dating?"

"How do you feel about dating older men?" he asked with his voice quiet and serious. She knew now that he was really serious; this was an important question for him.

She turned to face him. He was smiling but there was a little anxiety in his eye; even after everything, he wouldn't take her answer for granted. She tapped her finger against her lips, as if thinking. "Is the question for dating older men in general, or for dating you?"

His smile widened. "There's a different answer for me? I want that one, of course."

She raised her free hand to his face, her fingers stroking along his cheekbone and jaw. "In general I think it would be better to pursue relationships with people that have common interests and experiences, which makes dating someone close in age a sensible choice. But if it's you—those things don't matter."

"They don't matter?" He released her wrist to put his hands on her waist, drawing her in close.

She rested her hands on his shoulders. "What I realized when I met you at all those different times in your life was that it didn't matter when or how we met. There would always be something important between us."

"You're a secret romantic, Nanao-chan." He tipped his face up, pulling her against his body.

"Ridiculous," she murmured, her hands threading through his hair. "Do you really want to date as if we were strangers?"

"No. I want to be lovers who go on dates. We know each other well already, so we could skip a lot of the courtship stages if we wanted. But I want to experience those moments with you, even though we already know what we are to each other."

"Who's the romantic here?" she asked, but he'd made her very happy, her blood effervescent in her veins. They really could be so much to each other, could have so much together. She wanted all of those experiences, too.

"I love you, Nanao-chan." He slipped his hand up to the nape of her neck.

She kissed his cheek, the corner of his mouth, finally pressing her lips fully against his, softly. He teased her, nibbling at her lips until she opened her mouth for him, letting his tongue slip in. He tasted of dango and sake and it was just right, just as it should be. She pressed herself against him, wanting more.

A pair of young female shinigami passed by on the park path, giggling.

He broke the kiss reluctantly. "This isn't the best place for a romantic interlude. You should probably get some rest now, precious Nanao-chan. I don't want you to end up back at the Fourth."

She wasn't concerned about going back to the Fourth; she felt fine. But the park was too public for what she wanted. "Take me home, please."

He obligingly swept her up to flash step her to the door of her little house. She opened the door and stepped over the threshold. "Can I visit you tomorrow, Nanao-chan?" he asked, gazing at her longingly.

"No."

"No?" His eye widened in surprise.

She slipped off her sandals and came back to the door, curling her hand the front of his uniform. "I want to be selfish with you for a little while. Will you let me?"

He came in so quickly it made her smile. He clicked the door closed behind him, pulling his sandals off. "I want you to be selfish with me, as much as you want, not just for a little while. We may not always be able to have the time we both want together. There are a lot of responsibilities that we can't just set aside. But when we do have time, be as selfish with me as you want."

"I told you what I want. What do you want?" She reached up and took his hat off his head. She dropped it on her table and it rolled jauntily before settling.

He grinned, and it was wolfish around the edges. But he said: "The Fourth was very clear that you were to rest, Nanao-chan."

"I feel fine. And it's Friday night. We don't have to be at the office until Monday. I plan to spend a lot of time in bed over the weekend." She slipped her fingers under his pink haori. It fell to the floor with a soft rustle.

His eye gleamed with anticipation, but he said, "I don't know that your plans would be very restful, if they include me and your bed."

She led him into her small bedroom with her hand fisted in his uniform. The moonlight streamed in through the light curtains, casting tall shadows. The wide bed was in the Western style, taking up much of the room. "Are you trying to pretend that you won't want to nap at all? I find that hard to believe. Besides, if I feel too tired for work, my Captain will give me a little more time off."

He didn't need any more convincing.

Maybe they hadn't met at the perfect time in their lives, and maybe it'd taken a long time to get here, but they were together now, under the moon.

**The End**

* * *

**A/N:** This was a bit of a whirlwind process for me, trying to complete this story in the allotted time! I ran over the time and it ended up being longer than I'd intended, but I'm happy that I was able to explore Shunsui and Nanao further and speculate a bit about their zanpakutōs and Inner Worlds. I hope people enjoyed reading this story! Thank you for your reviews and, as always, for reading! ^_^


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